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Running a $48 billion company is not a joke, particularly when the brand in question is Coca-Cola. For five years now, Muhtar Kent, the Turkish-American Chairman & CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, has been doing it with purpose, pragmatism and panache. The 61 year-old New York-born CEO has faith in the "golden triangle" of business, government and civil society — or neo-capitalism, as is evident from this exclusive conversation he recently had with CD. Kent bubbles over his rise from the ranks while pouring a sparkling dose of neocapitalism Edited excerpts:

You started working for Coca-Cola as a delivery hand in 1978. How important is it for CEOs to know the company ground up?

To start a career from the very first step is always an advantage. It ensures you know and understand those all-important places where money changes hands billions of times each day. If you lose sight of where that happens, you lose sight of the business and how it runs. This is why today I love visiting stores and being in the market talking to our customers and consumers as much as possible.

Why do you say people in Coca-Cola must remain 'constructively discontent'?

Coca-Cola is the only business in the world where no matter which country or town or village you are in, if someone asks what do you do and you say you work for Coca-Cola, you never have to answer the question, 'What is that?' Our brand is so pervasive that it's easy for people to become arrogant because there's an aura around it.

We can never let this translate to complacency. We have to always innovate for the future—to continue to stay ahead of consumers' desires. Our legendary CEO Robert Woodruff put it best at the 1936 Coca-Cola Bottlers' Convention when he said, 'There are hazards in this talk of success...after all, Coca-Cola is not yesterday. Coca-Cola is tomorrow.'

Coca-Cola has had a history of grooming leaders from within. As someone who worked at Efes Beverages for a while, and then came back, what is your take on this aspect of Coke's talent management?

I often say that the best ideas are outside the four walls of our company. As individuals and as an organization, we have to be open to new ideas. My experience at Efes was no different. Efes was a member of the Coca-Cola system at the time and it is always helpful to learn the perspective of others—from our partners, customers and consumers—to make our company a better partner and listener.

What challenges does the march of consumerism throw up as it evolves from a physical to a digital platform?

Today, there's no question that consumers are much more empowered. The social media scene is exploding and gone are the days when you simply needed to create impressions about your brands with consumers. Now it's all about expressions—communicating in a dialogue with consumers to meet their expectations. Take the Coca-Cola Facebook page as an example, which has more than 76 million likes. It is the largest Facebook page of any single brand.

And it wasn't created by us. It was created by two Coca-Cola fans in California. The value of these two fans—and now the more than 76 million other fans who have joined them—is that you can dialogue with them. They can tell you things that are important for you, for your business. Consumers no longer want only a great product—they want to buy products from companies that align with their own character and values.

Coca-Cola is the definitive company of capitalism. Does capitalism in its current form need to transform?

Winston Churchill had said that democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried. It's the same with capitalism as an economic system. It's certainly not perfect but it is, without question, the greatest economic force the world has ever known.

Does it need to adapt? Absolutely. And I think that journey has begun. We're seeing a greater focus around the world on sustainability issues and working across the Golden Triangle of business, government and civil society to address deep social, economic and environmental issues. This model is the way forward for capitalism—a system whose greatest days are still ahead.

What was your strategy when you became CEO of Coca-Cola in 2008?

Our company had gone through a turbulent period in the late 1990s and early 2000s and many of our people had lost faith in the future. The company had been stabilized under the steady leadership of my friend and predecessor Neville Isdell, and when I became CEO in 2008, we were beginning to think long term again.

That's why we brought together our bottling partners from around the world to collectively create a shared vision for the future that puts everyone—our company and our bottling partners—on the same page. We call it our '2020 Vision' and it is our roadmap for essentially doubling our business during this decade. It's not something for the fainthearted, but something clearly do-able. It has made us stronger and, frankly, a more focused competitor.

What is the India view from Atlanta? Do we see any participation in top management from this neck of the woods?

One of the greatest things about Coca-Cola is its diversity. From Atlanta to points all around the world, you'll find that our organization reflects the diversity of the customers and consumers we serve. This is certainly true as it relates to the Indian diaspora working throughout Coca-Cola.

Many of our senior executives in marketing, strategy, operations and other functions are from India. The Indian intellect and global perspective are things we value greatly at Coca-Cola.

What is the key to Coke remaining relevant to consumers for 128 years?

Coca-Cola has been able to stay relevant because its values are timeless. That doesn't mean we can just sit back and watch it remain relevant to the next generations of consumers. We have worked hard over decades to ensure that Coca-Cola connects and taps into the passions of consumers everywhere.

Who are your role models in business?

I have the good fortune of standing on the shoulders of the legendary leaders who built this company over its first century— Asa Candler, Robert Woodruff, Roberto Goizueta, Don Keough and others who embodied what it means to be "constructively discontent" and committed to constant growth and renewal.

For me, personally, Neville Isdell and Don Keough have been wonderful friends. Outside the company, I've had a number of other mentors but my father taught me at an early age to be humble—to stay grounded—to carry my own bags.

Has B-school curriculum kept pace with the new business realities of the 21st century?

I am not sure if any institution—school, business, NGO, or government—has truly kept pace with the new realities of the 21st century. We're all trying hard, but the rate of change can be staggering at times. The good news is that our business schools are better today than they have ever been.

I would also say that the responsibility for change shouldn't just lie alone with business schools. Every element of academia and business and government needs to be reexamined and re-evaluated in terms of how well it is prepared for the realities of today. That goes for The Coca-Cola Company too.

How are you reallocating resources in a multi-speed world?

We are in the midst of a productivity initiative. This isn't about chasing pennies to drive earnings. It's about taking millions of newly available dollars and reinvesting them back into our marketing and sales infrastructure. Our brands respond well when we pay attention to them and they'll be getting more attention in the coming year, to be sure.

How have you managed to ensure that 30% of Coca-Cola's senior leadership are women?

Women are pillars of the communities we serve and pillars of our business. By investing in their success, we invest in our own. We are diligently focused on the success of women and have developed a strategic plan with key internal and external initiatives. In 2007, The Coca-Cola Company created the Global Women's Initiative—a strategic plan with the primary objective of accelerating the development and movement of female talent into roles of increasing responsibility and influence within the Coca-Cola system.

Additionally, our initiative called '5by20' is a global initiative that aims to economically empower 5 million women across our supply chain worldwide by the year 2020 through business skills training and financial services. This program works because we know if you economically empower women, you lift the livelihood of an entire community.

With people consuming less soda, what is the future you envisage for your flagship?

Coca-Cola is a growth brand globally. It is a beverage that consumers in many parts of the world have not yet tasted. Approximately, half of the world's population has not consumed a Coke in the past 30 days and a quarter of the population hasn't consumed a Coke in the last year. We expect to see growth in markets of all sizes.

While some—like India —will consistently show high levels of growth, developed markets like the United States are also able to support growth, albeit at slower rates. We will continue to grow our beverage portfolio in a balanced way—both in terms of geographic markets and in terms of still and sparkling beverages.